1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an airborne munitions asset onboard system that automatically calculates optimal detonation points, munitions orientation, velocity, and final trajectory for the asset in order to achieve the optimal endgame conditions for the munitions in order to maximize the probability of kill of the target
2. Background of the Prior Art
Current weapons are typically aimed or guided to the center of surface mobile targets. If the weapon overmatches the target such center aiming is sufficient to neutralize the target. If the incoming missile has sufficient detonation power, detonation of the missile anywhere near the target may destroy the target. On the modern battlefield, there is a trend toward the use of smaller weapons in order to destroy a given target. This trend is occurring for several reasons. Modern day battlefield commanders strive to minimize collateral damage including civilian deaths, occasioned by deployed weapons systems. Collateral damage minimization is especially difficult whenever a weapon is being prosecuted in an urban setting. Additionally, the use of smaller weapons allows for a greater number of weapons to be carried by a given delivery vehicle so that such a vehicle may destroy relatively more targets prior to the need to rearm. Furthermore, desired cost savings, both in manufacture and transport of the weapon, dictate a relatively smaller weapon for a given target.
The problem with using smaller weapons lies in the fact that many mobile targets may be relatively heavily armored proximate the center or may have vulnerable critical components located distant from the center. A relatively small weapon relative to the target that detonates at the aimed center of the target, may not place enough fragments, blast effects or munitions debris on the target's critical components to achieve a kill. FIG. 5a illustrates a typical weapon aimed at centroid of the target. Although such aiming minimizes miss distance, the resulting detonation attacks the target at a protected area so that a kill is not achieved. Instead, the warhead's detonation position must be chosen to insure the fragments, blast effects and/or munitions debris impact on the critical components. The detonation location that best satisfies this requirement will vary with target and may be anywhere in the near vicinity of the target. FIG. 5b illustrates a weapon that has its guidance optimized in order to fuze the weapon at a point that attacks the vulnerable components of the target and increases the probability of kill of the target.
To address this problem, many weapons are guided to a desired critical point of the target by a forward observation officer who is located in a line of sight position with respect to the target. The forward observation officer guides the weapon to a desired point on the target in order to increase the probability of kill. While this method of weapons targeting typically increases the probability of kill by advantageously positioning the strike of the weapon, the method requires the use of an additional operator. Not only is the forward observation officer in harm's way, oftentimes such positioning of an observation officer may not be possible, especially at the commencement of hostilities in a given location.
What is needed is a weapon that can autonomously determine the vulnerabilities of a particular target so as to be able to determine the position (which may or not be impact), the orientation, and the velocity at detonation in order to maximize the probability of kill in order to allow the deployment of the smallest possible weapon for a given target. Such a weapon must be able to continually update its endgame conditions based upon the changing dynamics of both the target and the weapon itself Ideally, such a control system used by the weapon to achieve its goals should be relatively small both in weight and volume/space occupied so as not to have undue impact on the overall physical architecture of the weapon.